Combining dark atmosphere with pop-friendly smoothness and recurring nods to U.S. hip-hop (Tribe, Biggie, and the Beasties all get sampled), The Hard Road complicates Hilltop Hoods’ party-starting rep with a brooding social conscience. The album demands greater patience than their 2003 breakthrough, The Calling, but Suffa and Pressure’s agile tag-teaming is more on-point than ever. “Clown Prince” is the instant classic here, establishing The Hard Road’s tense inner conflict between nostalgia and angst.